Don't Mess with Texas: February 17-20

Staying with Liz and Reed in Austin was so much fun! Our trip got off to a rocky start when my bag didn't quite make it (in 23 years of flying, this was the first time it's happened to me, so I didn't get too upset). It did make for a LATE night for all of us!

On Monday we went sightseeing with Liz, Reed and Anita (who was wrapping up her own Austin trip). We saw the Capitol, went on a nice walk in a park, (where else can you do that in the middle of February?) and went to a HUGE Whole Foods. After we dropped Anita off at the airport, we went to a restaurant called Rudy's...they keep things low-key by: housing the place inside their own gas stations; giving you wax paper to eat off of instead of plates; and having a really simple menu. Since Joe and I were first-timers we got to sample some different meats and sides. We were pretty stoked! They give you your meat, sides, slices of white bread and wax paper in a carrier. At the table you can make your own sandwiches with BBQ sauce, etc. I think it was the best beef brisket ever. As you can tell, we *kind of* liked this place :) That night we played a hilarious game of Balderdash with Liz and Reed.

Tuesday was Alamo day! We drove to San Antonio and walked to The Alamo via the Riverwalk. It's neat because the city is built up and around the river, so as you're walking you go under the downtown streets, etc. We had a yummy lunch right on the river and then made it to the Alamo. It's much smaller than I was expecting, but very neat to walk through the actual buildings, etc. That night Liz went to Young Women's, so Reed, Joe and I went to another Alamo...the Alamo theater where they serve you food while you're watching your movie! Unfortunately, we saw the worst movie of all time, Jumper. Based on one of Joe's favorite books growing up, he owed it to himself to see the movie, but it was so terrible that words cannot express how bad it was. Luckily, the food was good, the company was great (we laughed through the unbelievably bad writing), and the atmosphere was fun.

On Wednesday, Joe got to meet up with one of his Austin-based clients, Emerson. We packed up and saw the gorgeous campus of the University of Texas. It was right downtown, but HUGE! At the airport, I met up with high school friend Shaunna (I haven't seen her since 2001.) As a HUGE, unexpected bonus, we both got to meet Dr. Rey, a famous plastic surgeon from TV. After our 6th delayed flight in a week, (SLC-DC, DC-Austin, and Austin-SLC each had a stopover...that's how you get $99 flights!) we finally made it home early Thursday morning.